Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

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Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 3 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 4 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 5 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 6 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 7 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 8 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 9 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 10 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

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Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 12 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 13 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 14 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 15 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

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Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

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Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 18 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 19 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 20 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

Image 21 of 62

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale" that will open to the public Saturday morning. Seats, turf and other Dome items will be up for sale. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Astrodome workers sort through items and prepare for a "yard sale"...

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In an April 1965 file photo, the baseball field and seats at the Houston Astrodome are seen through a fish-eye lens in Houston.

Photo: AP

In an April 1965 file photo, the baseball field and seats at the...

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The Astrodome scoreboard lit up in 1965 to welcome President Lyndon Baines Johnson to the world's first indoor baseball game.

Photo: Curtis McGee, Houston Chronicle

The Astrodome scoreboard lit up in 1965 to welcome President Lyndon...

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Colt .45 President Roy Hofheinz, right, shows National League president Warren Giles some features of the Astrodome in September 1964.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

Colt .45 President Roy Hofheinz, right, shows National League...

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Elvis Presley performs at the 1970 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in the Astrodome.

Photo: Fred Bunch, Houston Chronicle

Elvis Presley performs at the 1970 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo...

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Presley made six appearances over three days at the Houston rodeo. His Saturday evening performance broke all rodeo attendance records with a crowd of 43,614.

Photo: Fred Bunch, Houston Chronicle

Presley made six appearances over three days at the Houston rodeo....

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BREWSTER McCLOUD - filmed in Houston Astrodome

BREWSTER McCLOUD - filmed in Houston Astrodome

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Houston Astro Craig Reynolds is congratulated by his teammates after he drove in the winning run with a single in the 10th inning of a game in 1983.

Photo: Tim Johnson, UPI

Houston Astro Craig Reynolds is congratulated by his teammates...

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In this Aug. 2, 2002 file photo, an aerial view of Reliant Stadium, the new home of the Houston Texans and the Astrodome, former home of the Houston Oilers is shown in Houston.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

In this Aug. 2, 2002 file photo, an aerial view of Reliant Stadium,...

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A large crowd attends a rally, January 26, 1961, in support of passing the stadium bonds to finance construction of the proposed domed stadium (Astrodome).

Photo: Gordon Adkins, Houston Chronicle

A large crowd attends a rally, January 26, 1961, in support of...

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A record crowd of 52,693 saw Houston win the nation's basketball game of the year, UH vs. UCLA, in 1968.

Photo: Owen Johnson, Houston Chronicle

A record crowd of 52,693 saw Houston win the nation's basketball...

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Local media and invited guests take a tour of the Astrodome in June 2010.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

Local media and invited guests take a tour of the Astrodome in June...

Reliant stadium seats among the item stored on the floor of the Astrodome shown during a media tour of the Reliant Astrodome Thursday, March 21, 2013, in Houston. The Oilers and Astros signs are replicas that were placed that location for the filming of the movie Friday Night Lights. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle )

The designation granted Thursday does not prevent Harris County from demolishing the building, but does open federal and state tax incentives for rehabilitation. The stadium, opened in 1965, long was called the "eighth wonder of the world."

"We'd say, 'hey great!' but it doesn't impede our ability as far as demolition goes," said Joe Stinebaker, spokesman for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. "The Dome's status is in limbo. No decision to demolish it or rehabilitate it has been made."

In November, 53 percent of voters turned down a proposed $217 million bond issue to redevelop the Dome, which lost its major clients when the Houston Astros moved to Minute Maid Park and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo relocated to the nearby Reliant Stadium.

Beth Wiedower, the director of the Houston office for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said private developers would be eligible for a 20 percent federal tax credit for investments made in the building. Developers also would get a break on state franchise taxes under a law passed in the 2013 Legislature.